-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- On October 1 , 1982 , the first commercial compact disc , Billy Joel 's `` 52nd Street , '' was released in Japan . In the 30 years since , hundreds of billions of CDs have been sold , Joel has stopped recording pop music and the music industry has moved on to the next hot medium .

When the first CD player was released that same day , it was described as a `` new digital record player , using laser beams '' by United Press International . Spun out of the far less successful Philips ' laser disc technology -LRB- remember those ? -RRB- , the CD was a result of Philips and Sony combining forces .

The compact disc was actually invented several years earlier . The first test CD was Richard Strauss 's `` Eine Alpensinfonie , '' and the first CD actually pressed at a factory was ABBA 's `` The Visitors , '' but that disc was n't released commercially until later .

Mass adoption did n't happen immediately -- CDs would n't overtake cassette tapes until the late 1980s . The first album to sell 1 million copies in the CD format and outsell its vinyl version was Dire Straits ' `` Brothers in Arms , '' released in 1985 .

As with most new technologies , one reason for the slow spread of CDs was their steep price tags . The Sony CDP-101 player sold for the equivalent of $ 730 when it first hit Japanese shelves in 1982 . Accounting for inflation , that 's about $ 1,750 today . The audio CDs themselves were $ 15 , which is $ 35 in 2012 dollars .

Because getting a new player and replacing an entire music collection was costly , audio manufacturers were savvy enough to market the first CD players to classical music fans , who were more likely to care about sound quality and have extra disposable income .

When they arrived , CDs were hailed for their pristine sound . But whether the audio quality of CDs is greater than vinyl remains a hotly debated topic among hi-fi enthusiasts .

`` For most people who were n't audiophiles , the switch to CDs was a revolution . It took away all the audio noise , '' said Mark Katz , a music professor at the University of North Carolina and author of `` Capturing Sound : How Technology Has Changed Music . ''

Young listeners opting to stream , not own music

Some will still argue that records sound better than CDs , but that is only plausible when people take meticulous care of their albums , listening to them in scratchless , snap-crackle-and-pop-free condition . Most people do n't consume music in a vacuum . Even today , the average music fan will listen to tunes on cheap earbuds in an environment filled with background noise , and is likely unable to be able to tell the difference between a CD and an MP3 , says Katz .

The compact disc changed technology , and went on to be used for data and video storage , evolving into re-writeable media and Blu-Ray DVDs .

The shiny little platter also changed how people interacted with their music .

`` Changing formats usually has greater impact on the way people listen , consume and disseminate the music , but it also does have an impact on the creative side , '' said Katz .

The first compact discs could hold up to 74 minutes of music -LRB- the rumor was that the length of Beethoven 's Ninth Symphony established that standard -RRB- or at least several songs more than a vinyl LP . This longer length allowed composers to write longer works without worrying about side breaks -- where listeners would have to flip over a record or cassette .

Convenience was another huge change . The discs were small , just 4.5 inches in diameter , and could be carted around far more easily than records . Listening to music on a CD was easier -- there was no standing up to flip over the record or tape , less time spent searching for the song you wanted to hear right then . Some CD players even allowed you to program what songs played or did n't , and in what order .

Three decades later , it may be surprising to some that CD sales , and Billy Joel 's career , are still alive . Though their market share is plummeting , CDs still account for the majority of album sales in the U.S. . In the first half of 2012 , 61 % of all albums sold were CDs , according to the Nielsen Company and Billboard .

Even so , CDs are gradually being overtaken by digital files . At first , MP3s were burned from CDs onto computers , traded on peer-to-peer networks such as Napster and the Internet 's back alleys . Then Apple released the iPod , and its iTunes store turned digital music files into a legitimate business . Now popular services like Spotify and Pandora let users stream music from anywhere , and Amazon and Apple are encouraging people to store their digital libraries in the cloud .

Like CDs before them , this new format is changing both the creation and consumption of music . Musicians no longer have to wait until an album is finished to release tracks -- they can sell them one at a time . Length of a song is n't an issue , just file size . Listeners have more flexibility than ever , with unlimited mix-and-match options . And increasingly , they 're opting to download single songs over albums .

And in an age when computer users can conjure almost any song they want with a few taps or mouse clicks , music stores themselves are disappearing .

Katz does n't think CDs and physical music storage will ever vanish altogether . People like tangible things , and form meaningful relationships with objects they can hold and look at -- more so than strings of ones and zeros . That explains why vinyl sales are up , often among young hipster types who were n't even alive when vinyl was the dominant medium .

`` There is the basic human fact of connection with physical objects , that wo n't change , '' said Katz .

Compact discs are unlikely to evoke the nostalgia many people feel for vinyl records , with their spiraling black groove and sometimes trippy cover art . And to people born in this century , they 're already becoming a retro curiosity .

Streaming debate strikes chord with music fans

But a generation of music fans grew up on them -- Nirvana , Public Enemy , Billy Joel and all .

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On October 1 , 1982 , Billy Joel 's `` 52nd Street '' was released commercially on CD

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CDs would n't overtake cassettes in popularity until the late 1980s

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CDs remain popular but are losing ground to MP3s and streaming music

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Whether the audio quality of CDs is greater than vinyl remains a hotly debated topic